WASHINGTON–In May, 1969, Specialist Santiago Erevia found himself on a hillside in Vietnam, far from his hometown of Nordheim, Texas.

An Army radio operator, he and his unit were under fire from Vietnamese forces huddled in four nearby bunkers. Gathering two rifles and grenades from wounded comrades, Erevia beat back the attack and made sure his unit could safely escape.

It was an act worthy of the nation’s highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. But it’s taken more than four decades for Erevia and 23 other Army veterans to get the recognition they deserve.

Today the White House announced it will award the medals to these veterans, thanks to a congressional effort to recognize soldiers who deserve the honor but who haven’t gotten it due to past prejudice.

Overall, five Texans will be recognized.

In 2002, as part of the Defense Reauthorization Act, Congress decided to review records from World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam to find whether some Jewish and Hispanic soldiers may have earned Medals of Honor they did not receive. They found 24 soldiers, including Erevia, whose acts warranted the award.

“We’ve wondered why he didn’t receive it the first time, and thought it may have been because of his name,” Jesse Erevia, Sgt. Erevia’s son, told The Washington Post.

Many of the vets to be recognized are Hispanic, but reviewers also found African American and Jewish soldiers, as well as five servicemen whose ethnicity was uncertain, who had been overlooked for recognition. Due to a fire that destroyed many military records, officials often had to recreate soldiers’ military history through interviews with their fellow servicemen.

The veterans from Texas shared a penchant for selfless heroism.

Like Erevia, Sergeant First Class Jose Rodela also served in Vietnam. In 1969, he helped defend his unit from a vicious attack that wounded 42 of his comrades. He moved among the remaining soldiers, encouraging and even physically moving them to hold a defensive perimeter while exposing himself to enemy fire.

Rodela and Erevia are both still living today, and will travel to Washington on March 18th to receive their medals from President Obama. Only one other veteran among the 24, Melvin Morris from Oklahoma, is also still alive.

Three other Texans will receive the medal posthumously. Sergeant Candelario Garcia of Corsicana served in Vietnam, where he charged a machine gun bunker, destroying it with grenades.

Corporal Victor Espinoza of El Paso helped his unit secure “Old Baldy,” an enemy stronghold, during the Korean conflict. Espinozza destroyed two bunkers, a secret enemy tunnel, and a machine gun position in the battle to take the strategically-important location.

Sergeant Mike C. Pena, from Newgulf, Texas served in the Korean War. He provided machine gun cover for his unit, which had run out of ammunition during a battle, until they could retreat to safety. He was overrun by the enemy and killed protecting his comrades.

Each of the veterans has already been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest honor. That award will be upgraded to the Medal of Honor at the ceremony next month.

Cadets toss their hats after becoming first lieutenants at the U.S. Air Force Academy, May 28, 2003. (Anna Risse/U.S. Air Force via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – At the U.S. Air Force Academy, requesting God’s help is now optional.

Cadets can now choose if they want to speak the final phrase of the Cadet Honor Oath — “so help me God” — a decision that riled Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, who served 29 years in the Air Force.

He introduced a bill last week that would require congressional approval to change an Oath of Office.

“Our Founding Fathers declared we are ‘One nation under God,’ and you better believe I’ll fight like mad to keep it that way,” he said. “I can tell you from experience, there are no atheists in foxholes.”

Johnson spent seven of his years on active duty as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, more than half that time in solitary confinement. He recalled a church service held during that time where a fellow prisoner belted “God Bless America.”

“It was truly the greatest gift each of us had during those endless days of torture, isolation, and starvation,” Johnson said in a statement.

Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, a former Navy pilot who served for nine years, is co-sponsoring the bill. Olson criticized the academy for bending to the pressure of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group that lodged several complaints against the academy.

The change in the oath was made by Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson on Oct. 25.

“Here at the Academy, we work to build a culture of dignity and respect,” she said in a statement. “And that respect includes the ability of our cadets, Airmen and civilian Airmen to freely practice and exercise their religious preference — or not.”

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, angrily told a Park Ranger guarding the WWII Memorial that she should be ashamed for enforcing the government shutdown. (screenshot from NBC Washington video)

WASHINGTON – After a video of Rep. Randy Neugebauer lashing out at a Park Ranger went viral, the Lubbock Republican has been handing out apologies — first to his constituents and now to the National Park Service.

The latest apology came in a letter to the director of the National Park Service.

“I regret how I handled that situation, and I would like to offer you my apologies,” he said in the letter, which was delivered on Friday, according to Scripps Howard News Service.

The incident occurred on the second day of the shutdown, while rangers were allowing World War II veterans from the Honor Flight Network to enter the memorial, but keeping out everyone else, including other veterans.

In the video, a flustered Neugebauer tells the ranger that she and the Park Service should be ashamed.

“I’m not ashamed,” the woman says.

“Well you should be,” Neugebauer responds.

He later apologized to constituents in a special edition of his official newsletter.

“I regret that my frustration with the situation seemed to be directed at her — that was not my intention,” he wrote.

After the video went viral, Vice President Joe Biden tweeted that he had spoken with the ranger and told her he was proud of her. But the ranger apparently won’t speak with the congressman. He says he reached out to apologize for his tone, but she has chosen to remain anonymous.

Instead, he wrote a letter to National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis and asked Jarvis to accept his apology on the ranger’s behalf.

“I’m sorry for the way I spoke,” he wrote, “not only because I put the Ranger on duty in an uncomfortable position, but also because my remarks were not an accurate reflection of the regard I have for the Park Service.”

WASHINGTON – The shutdown is now in week three and the Park Service can't take it anymore.

President of the National Park Rangers Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police George Durkee didn't mince words in an open letter that began with a recap of an incident where Lubbock Republican Rep. Randy Neugebauer yelled at a park ranger and told her she should be ashamed of herself.

“The image of a United States Congressman yelling at a Park Ranger — doing her job as she was directed — was shameful,” Durkee said.

“Closing National Parks is against our nature,” Durkee said in the letter. “The reason we became Park Rangers and love our profession is because we enjoy welcoming people from around the world to our national treasures, and providing for safe and enjoyable visits to these sites, while leaving them protected for future generations.”

Neugebauer apologized for the incident in a newsletter to his constituents earlier this month. His anger over veterans being barricaded from the monument wasn't meant to be directed at a sole Ranger, he said.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer told a Park Ranger she should be ashamed outside the WWII Memorial in Washington. (screenshot from NBC Washington video)

“I want to be clear: I meant no disrespect to the Park Ranger, who was simply doing her job,” Neugebauer said in the special edition newsletter.

Neugebauer was not the only person criticized in the letter. Durkee asked Congress to end the shutdown, the media to stop sensationalizing stories, and told anyone questioning the legality of the Rangers to seek a legal remedy.

“We will carry on with this miserable, thankless, and pay-less task denying public access to parks during the government shutdown,” Durkee said. “Although our actions too often make sensational news stories and fodder for pundits — they are supported by precedent and legal guidance from government lawyers, under laws we are sworn to enforce.”

The WWII Memorial has been the spot for many protests during the shutdown including one this past weekend attended by Sen. Ted Cruz former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and one this morning with the Military Coalition.

“I’m proud of you,” Biden told her during a phone call, according to a post on his official Twitter feed last night.

Neugebauer’s confrontation with the ranger occurred while a group of veterans were visiting the WWII Memorial. Although park rangers did not stop veterans from seeing the memorial, they have kept the public out during the government shutdown, as all national parks, museums, monuments and memorial are closed.

The Park Service announced that veterans seeking to visit the WWII Memorial through the Honor Flight Network will not be barred — good news for a group of Texas veterans planning to visit this afternoon.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, and a dozen or more other Texas lawmakers plan to meet them at the memorial, an aide said.

Neugebauer’s office has not responded messages seeking comment on the incident, footage of which has spread rapidly online.

Update, Oct. 8: Rep. Neugebauer said he “meant no disrespect to the park ranger,” in a letter to his constituents.

“I asked the ranger why the gates were being closed to American veterans. I regret that my frustration with the situation seemed to be directed at her–that was not my intention.”

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are angry. They’ve taken it out on the other party, the other chamber. Rep. Randy Neugebauer took it out on a Park Service Ranger.

“The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves,” Neugebauer told a ranger yesterday at the closed World War II Memorial, which has become flash point for Republicans as veterans fly to Washington to see the monument through the Honor Flight Network.

“I’m not ashamed,” said the ranger, who had already apologized to Neugebauer for the difficulty posed by the closure.

“Well you should be,” Neugebauer responded.

A local news station caught the exchange on camera and liberal websites have been spreading it around.

A man in a bike helmet chided the congressman for haranguing a federal employee who, unlike Congress, had no control over the closure.

“This woman is doing her job just like me,” the man said. “I’m a 30-year-old federal veteran. I’m out of work.”

“Well the reason you are is because Mr. Reid–” Neugebauer began, but was interrupted.

“No,” the man said. “It’s because the government won’t do its job and pass a budget.”

Neither the barriers nor rangers have stopped veterans from getting into the memorial. Yesterday, the barricade was moved and officers did nothing to stop the veterans as they entered the closed area.

Later in the day, the House passed a bill that would open the parks and monuments. This morning, Sen. John Cornyn tried to bring up the bill in the Senate, but it was blocked by Democrats who demand a spending bill that funds the entire government, not select parts.

Neugebauer’s office has not responded to email and phone messages seeking comment on the incident.

With the Senate adjourning for the day following a security incident outside the Capitol, the government shutdown is sure to extend at least into Friday. After the confrontation Wednesday morning, the Park Service announced that while the WWII monument remains officially closed, Honor Flight visitors won’t be barred. A Dallas group plans to arrive Friday afternoon.

A park ranger stands behind the barricades at the World War II Memorial during the government shutdown today. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – Should the government shutdown go into the weekend, it will have a profound effect on a group of World War II veterans from Texas flying to Washington on Friday to see the WWII Memorial — some for their first and last time.

Because of the shutdown, Washington’s memorials are closed. The WWII Memorial had a gate around it this morning with signs reading “All National Parks are closed.”

“Never should men of this caliber receive this kind of treatment in our nation’s capital,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Members of Congress helped move the barricade for veterans who came with the Honor Flight Program on Tuesday. Park police were standing nearby, but did not stop them.

Four more flights of veterans are scheduled to visit tomorrow. James McLaughlin, chairman of the Honor Flight Network, said he hopes the visits will be as successful as the one today, but there’s no guarantee.

“I’ve had lots of calls from other veterans wanting to know what’s going on,” McLaughlin said. “They’re nervous whether or not they’re going to be able to see the memorial.”

“We’re hopeful,” he added, “But we just don’t know.”

Cornyn’s office is in contact with the program and the senator tweeted that he would be at the memorial to see the veterans as they arrived Friday. A spokeswoman for Cornyn said the senator is expecting appropriations bills to pass both chambers this week, which would allow the monuments and memorials to re-open.

A bill by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, to transfer administrative oversight of Hazlewood benefits to the Texas Veterans Commission passed out of the Senate into the House on Wednesday.

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio

The Hazlewood Act provides veterans and their families free tuition up to 150 credit hours, which the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board currently oversees.

Transferring the program to the Texas Veterans Commission would allow veterans to have a conversation about the benefit with their peers. The bill text says it will heighten student and family awareness of Hazlewood, boosting enrollment in universities and colleges.

In 2009, the Legislature passed the Legacy portion of the Hazlewood Act, which allows veterans who do not use any or all of their Hazlewood benefits to pass them along to their children.

In the 2011-12 school year, public universities absorbed about $58 million in tuition given to veterans and their families by the benefit. University officials have repeatedly stated they fully back veterans, but are in need of more state support to finance Hazlewood.

State government trouble-shooter Jay Kimbrough, a friend of Gov. Rick Perry

It’s a new month. So somewhere in state government, Jay Kimbrough must be moving into new digs, right?

Right.

This week, Kimbrough started working on veterans’ issues at the state Health and Human Services Commission, commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said late Tuesday.

Kimbrough, a Dallas native, earned a Purple Heart after surviving near fatal injuries while fighting as a Marine in Vietnam. Goodman said he is working for former legislator Suzanna Gratia Hupp. In January, as we reported here, Hupp became state social services overlord Kyle Janek’s special adviser on how to improve services for veterans.

“They’ll be reviewing programs and benefits available for veterans and recommending ways to improve and better coordinate those services,” Goodman said of Hupp and Kimbrough.

Kimbrough, who will turn 66 in September, is Gov. Rick Perry’s prized troubleshooter.

Last fall, he returned to the state’s No. 2 homeland security post, at the Department of Public Safety, four months after Perry made him interim executive director of the Texas Department of Juvenile Justice.

He’s worked at Texas A&M, Perry’s alma mater, working on lab-safety problems in biodefense research. He’s served at Perry’s pleasure as reformer of the troubled Texas Youth Commission. Before that, he was a deputy attorney general, a staffer in the governor’s office, conservator of the Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and executive director of the Commission on Private Security.

For Kimbrough, social services is largely a new bailiwick. Expect the crashing noises to commence shortly … if only when he revs up his Harley at commission headquarters in north-central Austin.

Former Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, who represented part of the area around Fort Hood in the Texas House for 12 years, will lead a multi-agency effort to make sure members of the armed services receive needed social services after they return to life as civilians.

Hupp, a Lampasas Republican and chiropractor, has been named associate commissioner for veterans’ services at the state Health and Human Services Commission, the commission announced Thursday.

In the newly created post, she “will review programs and benefits available for veterans and recommend ways to improve and better coordinate those services,” according to a commission release. It said she would work with the commission, four departments it oversees and “other state agencies and community-based organizations that serve veterans.”

The move is the latest by Gov. Rick Perry to stress he’s attuned to veterans’ problems finding jobs and help for emotional and mental health issues. In November 2009, Perry directed the Texas Veterans Commission to help work off a backlog of claims at the U.S. Veterans Administration. He shifted funds from his office so the veterans’ commission could hire a dozen new veterans’ counselors to expedite veterans’ benefits claims. Perry also has worked to increase the state’s rather minuscule funding of veterans’ mental health programs. He since has pressed initiatives to give college credit for some of veterans’ military experience; launch a special workforce training effort aimed at veterans; and speed up technical certification of skilled manufacturing workers. The latter, known as the Skilled Workforce Initiative, is designed to help, among others, veterans.

On Thursday, Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek pointed to Hupp’s familiarity with the many veterans living around Killeen, parts of which she used to represent.

“She has a unique insight into the concerns of those who have served us so bravely,” Janek said.

Hupp said: “I am humbled by the opportunity to give something back to those who have given so much to all of us.”

As a lawmaker, Hupp worked on a 2005 overhaul of state protective services for the young and elderly. Since leaving the Legislature in 2009, she has been a radio talk show commentator.

Her political career began amid tragedy: She witnessed mass murderer George Hennard’s slaying of her parents, Al and Suzy Gratia, in a 1991 massacre at Luby’s cafeteria in Killeen. There were 21 other victims. Hennard killed himself at the scene. Hupp said she regretted leaving her gun in the car, as was then required by state law. She said she probably could have stopped the killer. She later credited her gun rights advocacy with helping pass the concealed handgun permit law, which took effect in January 1996, months before she won election to the House.